THE FINAL WAR 1960 (SINISTER CINEMA)

I have long wanted to see this Japanese horror/drama from Toei and I finally got the chance.

The Japanese title for this film is "World War 3 Breaks Out" but the US title is "The Final War". The print is a good print, but the movie is in Japanese with no English subtitles. However, that really isn't needed.

The USA accidentally drops a nuclear bomb on North Korea and so China and the Soviet Union plan to counter attack the USA as well as Japan.

The story centers around a news reporter trying to collect information abut the impending war and his girlfriend, a nurse who is preparing civil defense measures.

You can feel the tension building as news reports filter in over the radio about what is happening and the politicians who really don't care about anything, including the destruction of the human race.

This is a bleak and sad film which opens in a class room where we see charred bodies of men, women, and children from Hiroshima and the end we see much the same. Films like this are what I call "un-entertainment" movies. They are interesting, scary and involving, but any film dealing with the horrors of nuclear war in this way cannot be considered "entertainment".

Now don't get me wrong. I know this is just a movie, but the subject matter is disturbing. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie. My huge thanks to Greg Luce at Sinister for finally making this available to see.

The film was made in 1960 and not released here in the USA until Dec. 3rd, 1962 only 24 days before I was born and this was also during the height of the cold war. It's an obscure gem that needs rediscovery.